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1) Any idea which of the new channels will be added to the HD tier without an increase in the $10.99/mo subscription?

The HD Access fee is $9.99, and all of the channels will be added to the package. The price will not being going up when the new channels are added, nor will they be added to a new package. The $9.99 HD Access fee is all you need.

2) I got two BBC's in the box, and D* sent me three separate packages in the mail, each containing on BBC. I now have a total of 5 BBCs. What gives?

I'd keep the BBC's, they can go bad. And as Jeremy said, there will be no price increase at launch of the new HD channels. If you get the SD channel now and have the HD Access option, you'll get the HD version when it goes live. This doesn't mean that there won't be an increase in the future, say in Spring but current customers might get grandfathered in.

I am happy to pay $9.99 a month for HD access right now. I never watch anything else except for my HD locals. I will be even happier when we get more HD channels and I don't have to pay more for them though.

Maybe someone else could use them. Obviously they made a mistake sending them out. If they were in short supply and you needed them, I sure you would have a different answer. Maybe he should send them back.

HD for free from D*. You've got to be kidding! What goes up NEVER comes down. With digital SD being available and so many "small or niche providers" it will be a cold day in you know where when everything is in HD. Therefore, we will always be charged a fee for HD programming by D*. The major networks mandated their affiliates install HD within the cut off date for analogue, but the larger providers for D* are market driven. When their ratings start dropping with SD digital and they start losing advertisers, they will go to HD.
Also, think about the charge to have a dvr. We paid for the darn thing, why are we being charged a monthly fee for using it? Now if you got it for free, or almost free, that's different. I bought mine so I should own it. Why am I being charged the monthly fee? Because, under the guise of a "lease" they can, that's why. And this is why we will always be charged for HD programming, Because They Can and We Will Pay.

HD for free from D*. You've got to be kidding! What goes up NEVER comes down. With digital SD being available and so many "small or niche providers" it will be a cold day in you know where when everything is in HD. Therefore, we will always be charged a fee for HD programming by D*. The major networks mandated their affiliates install HD within the cut off date for analogue, but the larger providers for D* are market driven. When their ratings start dropping with SD digital and they start losing advertisers, they will go to HD.Also, think about the charge to have a dvr. We paid for the darn thing, why are we being charged a monthly fee for using it? Now if you got it for free, or almost free, that's different. I bought mine so I should own it. Why am I being charged the monthly fee? Because, under the guise of a "lease" they can, that's why. And this is why we will always be charged for HD programming, Because They Can and We Will Pay.

Fair enough, but when was the last time many people (especially people on this forum) paid $0 for TV?

1978? 1981?

There is always the option to get absolutely free TV using an antenna and your HDTV. But most people choose to pay for their service so they can get the programming they want. So yes - technically you'll always pay. After the minimum fees for the service you choose, however, the remainder of the cost is completely elective.

My family didn't get cable TV until the fall of 1986, because my parents saw no reason to "pay" for the OTA channels they got for free. In my youthful wisdom, I decided they were misguided, so while I was a freshman in college, I called up Cablevision and arranged for installation and paid for three months of cable as a "gift" to my family. Yes, it was ballsy on my part, but I was so convinced my parents would like it, I didn't hesitate making the call.

Well ... my parents loved it. My father was disbled, so going from 8 snowy OTA channels to 36 "crystal clear" channels was HUGE for him ... and he gladly paid for a subscription from the end of 1986 until I convinced my mother to get DIRECTV in 2003.

In my case, my father gained an avenue of information and entertainment he would never have found on his own, and his life was better for it.

My family didn't get cable TV until the fall of 1986, because my parents saw no reason to "pay" for the OTA channels they got for free. In my youthful wisdom, I decided they were misguided, so while I was a freshman in college, I called up Cablevision and arranged for installation and paid for three months of cable as a "gift" to my family. Yes, it was ballsy on my part, but I was so convinced my parents would like it, I didn't hesitate making the call.

Well ... my parents loved it. My father was disbled, so going from 8 snowy OTA channels to 36 "crystal clear" channels was HUGE for him ... and he gladly paid for a subscription from the end of 1986 until I convinced my mother to get DIRECTV in 2003.

In my case, my father gained an avenue of information and entertainment he would never have found on his own, and his life was better for it.

The moral is that sometimes there are things worth paying for.

Exactly. And all of us have the option to choose what we want to pay for, including TV.

I think part of the 100 new HD channels means a lot more local HD channels to areas that don't have them now.

Not this again.

No, it is 100 nationally available channels. Some will be part time (like baseball channels for games) and some will require something higher than the full normal package (like HBO or MLB EI) but they will all be NATIONAL channels.